Ashes to Ashes
by Okkomuri
Summary: MShep chooses 'Destruction', but galactic society is still working on cleanup and restabilization. While working with the Alliance and waiting to hear from the Normandy, a new species is discovered amidst ruins of galactic war. AU, 6 months after the end of ME3. Suspense/Action/Drama/Horror
1. Chapter 1

_Bum, bum, bum, bum…_

The commander's heels struck the pavement outside Alliance HQ with steady precision. A rush of heavy, mid-summer humidity passed by him, tugging at the fitted athletic material made specifically for this kind of seasonal training. _Bum, bum, bum…_

It was his go-to for the past few months since coming out of ICU. Getting his strength back, though wear and tear plus age had been catching up to him. _Bum, bum, bum…_ This also created an outlet, a space and time for him to dispel the concerns that'd been welling up in him. About the Normandy. About the end of the war, and his decision. About his many near-death experiences and the hauntings that still remained. The future of galactic society, and his own future – his own mortality.

This is the path he'd chosen.

...

Today the commander's mind was wandering over some reports out of Sur'Kesh. That planet was blessed with being out of the Reaper's immediate line of sight when their purge began. Still, some made it over – and a few reached the jungle-world's surface. Of those, the STF had surveyed and dismantled all but two. They'd particularly been investigating a problem about dismantling that the entire galaxy was facing: a specific chamber, its contents unknown, remained locked up to a point that no civilization had yet breached or successfully scanned inside them.

Theories abounded, the most popular of which was that it might be the Reaper's true core: their power supply and the hub of their hyper-advanced VI engine. Another theory stated that while the chamber could be a power supply, it was unlikely they needed an extra core. The inner workings of the abominations had mostly been figured out, in general terms, and from what the galaxy agreed upon; each Reaper would have more than enough power to sustain themselves indefinitely, so long as the Cycle Hibernation Theory were true. And if that were the case, the possibility of it being a VI hub wasn't far-stretched.

A final theory had surfaced just before this report came in.

It proposed that the chambers were used in Cycle Hibernations, but only to store the trace amounts of biological samples that were collected via Dragon's Teeth. This would explain why the Catalyst, per Shepard's report, stated that the Reapers 'preserved the harvested lifeforms'. There was likely some analysis of the samples while the Reapers waited for the next cycle to be ready for harvest. These samples were then, it was theorized, dumped as the information would be stored in digital form and the Reapers couldn't possibly have room to store all of the miscellaneous samples they'd have collected over so many millennia.

Sur'Kesh broke that idea.

...

The STF claimed to have responded to a report that one of the intact Reaper corpses had suddenly 'popped', causing it to lose balance in the makeshift rigging and come toppling over most of the observational team. When they arrived, the operatives found the chamber had indeed burst open, a mass of non-sustainable organic mess writhing just below it, waiting to meet them. The STF studied it and confirmed multiple individual traces of several species' DNA, even from previously unidentified species. Some of these were nigh-confirmed as belonging to Protheans or other pre-existing lifeforms from the last cycle and beyond.

The organism, if it could be called that, ended up failing to survive. Even with their technology and brilliant minds, the mess was just too unorganized and kept rejecting portions of itself over and over again until finally, the entire thing lost any hint of life whatsoever.

What had caused the anomaly was still being looked into.

But the report went out, and wherever an intact Reaper corpse stood, they were either repositioned, dismantled, or supported and guarded heavily. The Alliance was keeping a total of twenty-seven in isolation, intact and out of the public eye, for study. That number was higher than other worlds, as humanity's home had been their initial and most focused target.

...

"Hahh…" Shepard slowed his pace and paused, gathering his breath before taking it up again.

The closest corpse was at the city's limits, near a less than desirable neighborhood that now was on the brink of rioting – and had been for a while – due to constant demand for relief aid and not enough to go around. Things had improved drastically in the past six months, but there was still a lot of progress to be made. Life wouldn't be the same for a long time yet.

Politicians had been arguing, and of course Shepard had gotten dragged into some of it.

The Alliance had comm lines restored, for the most part, though their network wasn't what it used to be. Efforts to make up for the lack of AI assistance was grueling and intensive, a lot of systems were replaced – but those were all in the industry and power sectors, primarily. That and the military, plus high levels of government. Civilian access apart from limited comms was almost nonexistent.

But people on this planet don't do well if they're bored and without a reason to fight authority. The economy was getting back on its feet, the Alliance and the United Earth Revival Movement – UERM – had been working alongside many governments and companies to provide relief, and to provide social services. That ranged from temporary living placement, locating missing persons, reconnecting people, basic needs aid, and even job placement. The truth is, things were looking up. And it would probably take them less time than had passed to really get things steady for good.

...

As the commander finished his final round, making his way around the semi-circular building and turning back towards the doorway he'd used; a dark-haired woman in cerulean gear approached him. Her brows were set in a slight furrow, dusty hazel eyes set on her old teammate. "Ash," he greeted her, "We have a situation," was all she said, knowing he'd understand the phrase they'd both heard more than one too many times. Shepard stuffed his previous state of mind, focusing himself and closing the distance to her. "Alright, let's go," they'd discuss it inside on the way to a briefing or comm room.


	2. Chapter 2

They were headed out, a team of his own and five other groups, each taken two and two by vehicle, with the last Alliance team providing aerial support and oversight. It was the southeastern area known as 'Las Ramas'. There'd always been some degree of poverty, outcast and shifty characters, a hub for drug dealings and other black-market trade. And with the collapse of order during the war, with the fact that it'd only been less than a year since that all ended; the neighborhood was now even worse than before the Reapers touched down.

The urban-terrain vehicles sped through, eager to reach their secured destination of an Alliance research complex, complete with electrical fence, regularly posted guard, and barbed wire barricades. They'd resorted to the latter out of necessity, turrets were still offline due to civil rights concerns and political battles more than anything.

From the comfort of their own element-zero powered craft, Shepard viewed the cam-feed from outside with mild interest. He was going over details of the reports with Liara, the now offline and out-of-contact Shadow Broker. She hadn't been happy about the comm restrictions, and granted the Asari found some ways around the digital red-tape, but too much of that would attract the wrong attention and put her at risk for being forced to leave Shepard's side. So she played it cool, as much as she could.

A glimpse of a child playing in some dirty water puddle as the vehicle approached caught the commander's eye. He was young, probably only three or four. And no, he didn't look at all like the Catalyst's representation – rather, this child was of blatant latino descent and carried a mess of nearly blackish-brown on top of his head. But as the speeding Alliance all-terrain, urban combat machines approached, he just happened to be staring straight at that particular cam-feed's exterior recording lens. So that made it seem like the child was glaring right in at Shepard as the toddler backed away from the puddle, making sure not to get run over.

...

They and two other teams entered the facility. The third remained on its surface level, keeping communication between them and the air-support squad. It was him, Ash, and Liara; plus two other teams of three and three. This wasn't the usual setup for an investigation and capture mission, it was only due to nature of the facility that so much was being poured into their effort.

As the elevator passed deeper and deeper into the subterranean research lab, an Alliance soldier went over the facility's present status. "We've got most power restored, though it's backup. Reconnecting to the main grid is taking longer than it should-"an engineer interrupted him over their suit's comms, "That's your guy's fault, not ours." The first man switched his channel off so he could speak to the people in front of him without being overheard, "That's ensign Yates. Civil add-on, taken to upgrading anything he touches whether it's roped off or not." Again the scientist interrupted them, though not having heard the soldier's comment, "Really, phasing out the electromag-suspense monitors, should have been putting in a better system while-" Shepard got annoyed now, "How long will it take?" He addressed the ecstatic man not with them. "Three hours, at best. Possibly more than that."

The elevator passed below the thick metal threshold which separated the bottom half of the facility from its upper portion, exiting in a highly reinforced glass tube. From there, separated within its own containment field, and by specialized transparent industrial-grade plastics, glass, and metal caging, was the Reaper corpse. It had indeed moved, not of its own accord, but from their vantage point one could barely make out a section of its synthetic belly that had burst open – shards of metal and tubing falling out all over as if it may as well have been organic. The thing's 'face' was positioned just towards the left of them, giving the many arms behind it an opportunity to block their better view of the 'popped' section on its belly-side. And more than that, one of the front side-legs had broken through its containment, along with several smaller, higher-up sections that were broken apart as well. These would have been too high for anything to reach without climbing over the Reaper, and more than that, once exiting the other side there was at least a 70-foot drop before reaching the ground.

It wasn't one of the largest of the Reapers, but it was still big enough to create a logistics nightmare when the Alliance first decided to choose some for storage and research. The front arm had been completely removed, to help fit it in. Other than that, they hadn't been altering it at all, physically speaking. The facility's purpose was to scan, monitor, and decode virtual information. That was all. But the Reaper's sudden burst of activity had changed that.

...

Upon reaching the ground floor, a team of researchers greeted them. Each were introduced, statements taken, questions asked. It seemed that when the burst occurred, a shockwave of electromagnetic energy rocked the facility – not enough to affect the main power grid, but enough to take this lower half of the facility offline. It had been four minutes and seventeen seconds before the backup generator managed to kick in, more than enough time for something to escape the scene. But the lower half was also now on lockdown, the three teams and one soldier that came down with them were the first to do so since this event occurred.

One researcher, a biochemist who also specialized in genetics and molecular coding, claimed to have seen something just after the burst occurred. "Dr. Rassel and I were at the front here, going over some binary forms that'd been giving us trouble in decompacting. When the electrical waves first began, the entire team started shutting down, we sent a message up top but I don't know if it ever made it through." Their comms had been shut down as part of lockdown, too. Only the upper half of the facility could look into what was going on, and override that communication barrier if needed. The lower section was at their mercy for these worst-case scenarios. That was the level of risk involved to their research, and the Alliance would not be made into fools for it when the rest of the galaxy was doing the same thing.

"Once the burst happened, and I ducked down here since, well…" her gaze drifted off, probably recalling some horrible memories from the war. Anyone who survived had them. "I didn't know what was going on," she half smiled to the commander, a strange one, then continued. "Anyhow, comms were knocked off, the lights flickering – I knew that meant we had to have been losing power in the next few moments. But I looked up over this station, and just there-"she pointed to a space between the Reaper's face and the other side-leg, where one might have been able to see the ground just about below the chamber from its belly, "I saw something, couldn't make out what it was, but it was moving – it's alive, and I saw it stand, start to move off towards the left there."

That meant it had immediately made its way around the back of the Reaper, probably searching for an exit from the containment zone. That is, if her story were true. The researchers were shaken, but dutiful. They knew this was a risk when they went into it.

...

Following information gathering, the three teams split. One remained in the innermost circle encompassing the main containment and research room, the other two – Shepard's sqaud included, began investigating the larger outer ring and various additional rooms of the lower facility. Twenty-five minutes in, and the second team crackled in over their comm channel, "…Just missed the thing, suppressive fire confirmed but its fast. Headed east of your position, Bravo, C-141 to intersect." That was a room number and the squad name given to Shepard's, Delta squad was accompanying them elsewhere while Epsilon remained in the center of the research area. "Copy, heading to intersect." He and Ash exchanged a look, before switching to suppressive and nonlethal ammo. It was in their mission detail to try and capture it alive, but lethal force was authorized as necessary. Still, the brass had made it clear that they wanted it living more than anything. Liara had already been focusing on using biotics, prepped and ready as they made their way around the various halls and rooms of the facility. Her pistol was already set to nonlethal, so she drew it from her holster instead as their team made way to C-141.

Scrambling noises and things getting knocked around from a hall opposite of their intended trajectory reached them, Shepard hugged the wall before an opening towards that path. He nodded to Ash, also positioned out of sight and behind him, then popped out of his cover with her right behind. Liara was giving them both extra barrier, but that didn't prepare them for what met their line of sight.

With pale complexion and a half-human, hanar, and some Asari traits; the creature towered a good foot and a half over Shepard's head – if it had been standing at full height and not crouching over something. Obviously amphibious but capable of extreme speed and acrobatics, the thing had put its arms up in a feeble attempt to protect itself from their suppressing rounds – similar but far less potent than hammerheads – and then rushed them, leaping overhead and farther down the hall with a sudden burst of speed. It had released some kind of awful screech right before jumping over them, slightly shorter and somehow only a bit less horrific than a Banshee.

"Damnit! Delta squad, target's made way north. We've lost visual, do you copy?" Shepard took off after it, Liara and Ash hot on his heels behind him. That squad was south of their position, there was no way they were going to intercept – and worse than that, there were a couple ways it could get into the main chamber from the direction it was heading. "Be advised, we are locking down the research core. Epsilon squad now in pursuit," they were going to bottlenose this thing, whatever it took. Protecting the researchers was another 'must' of the mission.

...

Three hours and fourteen minutes after that, they finally had it. A room that intersected three hallways in a 'V' design, with Delta and Epsilon squads blocking off the top two paths, and Shepard's coming up from the south. They had sealed the northern passages, forcing the creature between Bravo squad and the last way out. It screeched again at them before rushing the walls, trying to use them to jump off of and get around. But Liara had erected a biotic barrier, there was no way the thing was getting past. They took the risk and sealed the last blast-door.

With the barrier still being held up by Liara, they watched the thing take a few tentative steps back once it understood the room was completely sealed. Again the thing screeched at them, longer and more horridly than before, and behind the Asari, Shepard and Ashley had swapped out to regain their lethal rounds. Flashes of bioluminescence emitted from the sides of the thing's face and arms, all the way down and along its back, too. The dimness of the room due to low-power added to that display, and the few scraps of items in it made for the human-and-Asari team's advantage. Even so, they didn't know what it was capable of or how it would behave. Shepard and Ash broke Liara's barrier, exiting now in harm's way as the Asari prepared a biotic stasis field.

It watched them with their guns ready, pointed towards it, and backed away a little more. The thing inhaled a few times, deeply – there were no signs of obvious influence upon it, no signs of husk-like technology or manipulation by the Reapers at all. It ran towards the west side of the room, hunching itself over into what could only be described as a kneeling or near-fetal position, then flashed more warning signs at them. The thing then ran back to its original spot, with unnerving speed, and did not stop. Instead, it suddenly changed direction towards them and Ash let out a few quick rounds at the thing – causing it to rescind the advance and pull back to an alcove towards the north of the room just before one of the sealed doors.

Red liquid dripped from its right arm and upper abdomen, the slits where its black eyes were housed narrowed tighter than they'd seen so far. A wheezing sound escaped the thing, and it backed away even more so – apparently afraid now that it'd been wounded. It glared directly at Ash and released another small, light-show of a warning, complete with a half-assed snarl. The wheezing continued. Shepard dropped his gun, much to both Ash and Liara's disapproval, "What are you doing!?" The first reprimanded him, but couldn't do anything more than that as he put his hands out, palms forward and empty.

It's attention was on him, still wheezing and barely attempting to warn him off. Ashley repositioned herself so the commander wouldn't get in her line of fire if she needed to bury the thing. Liara added a barrier to him, also ready with a concussive push if it were needed.

He continued to approach the thing, its flashes of warnings and mild attempts at snarls only serving to slow the human when he sensed he was pushing it too far out of possible trust. Now within the last two meters separating them, the creature had given up on warning him off entirely and was now watching him with passive interest. Its eyes barely open and wheezing slowed, though deeper and steadier; it was taking deep breaths of air in through an open maw.

"…Can you understand me?" The commander prompted. To that its eyes opened fully again – whether out of comprehension of human language or simple surprise at hearing the sound, it was impossible to determine for sure. It turned from where it was resting on the ground, raising itself with support on the injured arm and into a half-kneeled, half-one-leg-raised position. Now facing him, it inhaled several times, loudly – searching for his scent.

Nothing happened for a minute, except Ash shuffling uncomfortably. Liara had exchanged her push for a lift now. And then a deep, gargled voice escaped from the thing, "Shepard." Their surprise was cut short when Liara put the organism into stasis, from there she and Williams proceeded to knock it unconscious via a tentatively-approved formula the research team had been composing. They had no way to know if it would work, and if it did, if it wouldn't prove lethal. But Liara had stopped any possible concerns from her human companions, "If we don't get it into storage now, we may not have another chance for hours, if at all." That had been it, mission complete.

The other squads came in and helped transfer the thing once it was confirmed to be knocked out, and after an on-the-spot modification of medi-gel was applied to the creature's wounds. It wasn't long for the creature to be put into containment, as on their way back to the main core the facility regained full power. And with that, communications. Officially, the Alliance was going to transfer the lifeform into another facility the next day, as soon as a medical team confirmed it's wounds were healed and not concerning enough to stop them from doing that.

It would be another four days after that before Shepard heard anything more about the subject.


	3. Chapter 3

The lifeform was there in front of him, suspended in a tank complete with breathing apparatus and medical tubes linked into it. The Alliance's best had identified it as a new species, capable of intelligent thought and communication. It had formed out of the remnants preserved within the Reaper's containment chamber, they confirmed. The STF and some additional researchers throughout the galaxy had been contacted, Dr. T'Soni was present as well.

From what they'd gathered, the rudimentary pulses of electrical energy still within each of the Reaper's corpses meant that at any time, there was the possibility of an electrochemical reaction being triggered that may or may not end up creating organic life at the cellular level. Whether these cells were viable or not depended on so many conditions, it was difficult to even begin investigating. But the fact remained that the containment chambers were acting, though unintentionally, as an artificial womb.

The idea that substances from people's bodies across the galaxy, and throughout millennia, that had been harvested via transforming them into husks were now forming themselves into new life was more than a lot to take in. It was also something the Alliance and every other major civilization knew they could not afford to let become public knowledge.

When he laid eyes on it, Shepard's memory of their first interaction rushed back to him.

" _Shepard._ " It had spoken his name. With what they knew now, that shouldn't have been possible.

…

While regaining its health, the being had been investigated by the team. They'd kept it under sedation for the first 36 hours, then allowed the lifeform to wake up. It had tentatively been dubbed "Messoris animo", or 'Reaper's breath' by the scientific community. The unofficial species' name was both an insult to the synthetics and a statement of wonder for the new lifeform's existence.

Shepard thought they were being too giving with the terminology, but he didn't care for debate or to make his feelings known. It didn't matter what the thing was called, only why it was here and what it would do from here on out.

…

His Asari friend had arrived just a day before him. The thing had been cooperating with them, communicating and learning their languages, until within the past couple days. It changed form and refused to speak to anyone, they couldn't pinpoint what had triggered this behavior. Melding was restricted as a means to gain information, as the Alliance and scientists on site couldn't be sure that the Reaper's influence was gone, however small of a chance it might be.

And so Shepard was brought in, despite some concerns that in his report it had spoken his name.

They'd taken bigger risks than this in the recent past, and the restraints on the thing plus the barriers between him and the tank meant there was next to no chance of anything drastic happening. Still, he felt a bit unnerved as the organic returned his gaze.

…

It nodded in his direction as if to acknowledge his presence, still keeping silent.

The facility's staff had given him a script, prompting him on what to say and what topics to avoid. It included details on what they had learned of the thing's behaviors, its general personality, and so on. At first, everything had shown that it was learning – that it wanted to be taught by them. The lifeform was highly social, just as humans and hanar; and any other species that would have advanced to the point of being 'harvestable' by the Reapers.

The section of the report about its sudden change in behavior was short but detailed.

Exactly 53 hours and 19 minutes ago, it had stopped participating in a problem-solving test that it had previously completed for the staff. Nobody had said anything to it, there were no signs of medical or behavioral changes prior to the thing's decision to cease complying with them. Since then, nothing they said or did seemed to affect it, apart from a particular Alliance soldier that had become slightly aggressive in his tone and posture.

It responded by glaring at him, then settling into a resting position and casually pushing the man aside with the arm closest to him. There was no harm done and no obvious violent intent. The thing continued to ignore them from then on, complying only when they moved it back into the stasis tank.

…

The script read something along the lines of "What's going on?" but Shepard ignored that. He wasn't required, officially speaking, to follow it. And that was too general and passive of a line for him.

"You stopped cooperating," he began to which the thing immediately answered, as if it had been waiting for him. "Yes," was all the gargled voice said. It wasn't so strained as before, thanks to the changes and growth in its form. "Why?" He asked in the same manner he would have asked anyone in the present situation.

It took a moment before responding again, "There is no… no desire to." Shepard crossed his hands behind his back, the same authoritative posture that he'd taken up many times before. "I don't think you understand the situation you're in." He continued, "You don't get to just give up." The thing pulled its head back, indignant, "Give?" Dr. T'Soni's voice came in on a private channel, "There may be some parts of human language that she's still struggling with," that information was new, both on its understanding and its gender, "They're asking you to take it easy with her."

…

Shepard relaxed his position, and the lifeform continued speaking, "We, I…"

From within an observation booth, Dr. T'Soni and a team of the facility's scientists were keeping track of the lifeform's status. It had become frustrated by Shepard's words, but now her hormone levels were showing she was trying to calm herself. "You. What are you?" It asked him, which was odd considering that the lifeform already knew Shepard's name.

"I thought you already knew me," he answered. "No, we… we made generalizations… our understanding… there is no way to be certain." Shepard pressed it a little further, "What do you mean 'we'?" This could be dangerous information they were getting into.

"I… I am aware that I exist, only because of… due to the ones…" It was having difficulty finding words. "The ones before, whose forms were changed and warped… They who provided the essences to become recorded into the black voice."

…

Throughout all of their efforts, the lifeform had been referring to the idea of the Reapers, however rudimentary it's understanding was, as the 'black voice'. Similar to the 'glass mother' of the Krogans on Korlus. Shepard took a moment before asking the question on everyone's mind, "Did the black voice speak to you?" It responded firmly, "No, but I… we made generalizations, realized and understood that this was the one that kept us from finding our form… from taking shape again."

So while operational, the Reapers kept what they'd harvested from organic lifeforms within these chambers, and somehow prevented cells from forming. Why go through all the trouble of conserving those materials inside them if it meant wasting so much energy to keep life from forming again?

A transmission from the station's commanding officer came through, and Shepard dropped the question to ask the one he'd been prompted. "That still doesn't tell me why you stopped working with us."

It returned it's focus to the topic at hand. "Because we wanted to speak to you."

…

Another signal from the station's CO came through, "Commander, brass doesn't want to push this-" He interrupted the man, "I was told to get this thing cooperating again. No restrictions." With that he adjusted the volume all the way down to near zero, and continued their conversation. If Liara had something to say, he could at least still hear her – barely.

"Why me, if you don't even know who I am?"

"We know a name, and that is… it is more than was given to any other." The Reapers didn't use names among any other organics? Their identification system could be anything, but the claim that Shepard was the only one besides themselves that they had named – no, that made too much sense. They had deemed him and by extension, humanity, as a threat. Meaning they considered him at least on par with being as capable and as powerful as a Reaper.

His stomach churned a bit at that idea.

"Well, you've gotten to speak to me now." He remained standing even though there was a chair in the observation room. If there was any more reason that she had to give him, it would have to happen soon. He was not going to play games with this.

The being remained silent for a minute, and so Shepard turned as if to leave, "Commander!?" Liara's voice barely made its way to his ears. "Why?" The thing spoke from behind him. "Why do you… why leave?" It's tone was much too eerie for comfort. Shepard turned to face the thing, and through making eye contact he felt like there was a void within it that could never be filled. It was as if he were looking into a black hole, only that emptiness just happened to be where the thing's soul should be.

…

The hairs on his neck stood on end before he shook off the sensation, "Until you make yourself useful, I won't be back." There, that had done it – he was fine to go now, that should be more than enough to get it going.

Liara spoke to him before they left, and though she could sense something was wrong, she didn't dare bring the topic to light with so many of the staff around. They'd have to wait until she was done here, a good seven hours and well past sunset.

…

He was turning over a model of the SR2, made of pure glass in honor of a commemoration ceremony that was held following his recovery from the final battle's events. There'd still been no word.

"Shepard," a voice sounded from the other side of his room. It was on Alliance HQ's property, in a section of the building usually reserved for the visiting families of the top brass. Since that wasn't happening at all lately, they'd allowed him to take up residence in a full-suite. The door opened to reveal Dr. T'Soni, "Are you free?" She asked, knowing full-well how easily he could respond to ward her off if that's what he wanted to do. The human nodded, stepping aside to let her in.

"That was quite the predicament you were in, I wasn't expecting her to exhibit those behaviors…" She began as the door slipped shut behind them. The commander followed her inside, "I don't think any of us were expecting that." Liara slowed her pace, turning to smile at him before taking a seat around a low-set coffee table. "She has begun cooperating again," the Asari scientist confirmed after a moment, speaking as Shepard sat down, too. "But I don't know how long it will last." He had a glass of water set on the table from earlier, and after sipping it he responded, "It seems to know an awful lot, though." He set the cup down, though before removing his hand he asked her if she'd like anything.

Liara shook her head, "Thank you." Her friend was relaxed, but a bit rattled. It was hard not to be, and she knew it was best for him if she did not delve into all the technicality behind what they knew and didn't know. "What do you think?" She asked him, trying to get a peg on where he was at.

"Hmm?" His request for clarification when he didn't want to answer something, but knew she'd make him tell eventually. They'd known each other long enough, and been through enough together to have these little things between them. "About her situation. Where she's coming from." Liara recognized it as a lifeform. He was still having trouble validating its existence. It was just too hard. "I don't know…" he stood to take the glass into the kitchenette, from there dumping its contents and placing it into the sink. "I think she may be suffering," Liara called from the other room. "Really?" He couldn't hide the sarcasm and bitterness in his tone.

Turning to head back to the room where Liara was waiting, he found her instead standing in the archway to the space he was in. She leaned against it, arms crossed. A look of knowingness painted on her features. She'd always been able to do that with him, read him more easily than anyone in the galaxy – than anyone in the universe. "Really," she returned. He sighed, to which the Asari continued as she approached him, "Shepard, I know this is too much to take in. For any of us." She placed her hand on his cheek, the other at his shoulder. He couldn't stop himself from returning the gentle embrace, conflicted as he was about their topic of conversation. "But if we don't, what will happen when others need to face it?" She was referring to it becoming public knowledge, or the members of the Alliance that had to face it. Or worse, when the Normandy came through… when the rest of their team came back for an update. What would he say to them then?

It wasn't that he didn't want the thing to exist. But he was conflicted, and that tore at him because it did make him, in some ways, like their worst enemy. Of course, that was the far-fetched and grossly exaggerated version of it, but the idea still held itself deep, deep, deep in the back of his mind.

"Yeah," he allowed the word to escape himself, "I know." With that and placing a hand on her face, though every time he did so he was also reminded of their strained relationship ever since he'd come back – ever since finding her and helping her to become the Shadow Broker, ever since working together again after Mars and during the all-out war. He desperately hoped they could have some peace, some healing in their life together. Even if that meant not necessarily being together, he wanted to make amends to Liara. There just hadn't been a chance yet.

She smiled, brilliant blue eyes lighting up more than their usual hue. "Good," and a quick peck on the cheek before she turned to exit the room. He reluctantly let her escape his embrace, trailing her to the door. "Call me if you need to." She would return to working with it and with the rest of Alliance HQ. She'd be between those sites for the next few days. He nodded, "I will," it was a promise.


End file.
